Two books, two standards for Obama, Bush

Not all campaign books are treated equally. Just look at Edward Klein and J.H. Hatfield.

Klein, of course, is the author of the new book “The Amateur: Barack Obama in the White House.” Hatfield, now dead and forgotten, wrote a book about George W. Bush, “Fortunate Son,” during the 2000 presidential contest.

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Klein’s book, which debuted in early May, has been mostly ignored by large media organizations (although not by the book-buying public, which has put it at the top of next week’s best-seller list). Hatfield’s book, on the other hand, rocked a presidential campaign — before crashing and burning on its own dishonesty and its author’s criminal record.

“Fortunate Son” attracted attention because it reported that Bush, then the leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination, had been arrested for possessing cocaine when he was 26 years old. Hatfield wrote that Bush’s father, the future President George H.W. Bush, used his influence to cover up the incident.

“George W. was arrested for possession of cocaine in 1972 but due to his father’s connections, the entire record was expunged by a state judge whom the elder Bush helped get elected,” Hatfield quoted a “confidential source” as saying.